Detecting Suicidality in Opioid Use Disorder Requires an Understanding of Intentional Opioid Overdose

The authors aim to address the urgent need for effective screening tools to identify individuals with opioid use disorder (OUD) at risk for intentional opioid overdose, as existing suicide risk assessments may not adequately capture this population's unique circumstances. They highlight the complexities surrounding the intent of opioid overdoses and emphasize the necessity of developing a validated assessment that considers the specific affective, cognitive, and behavioral factors contributing to this risk. Ultimately, the commentary calls for targeted research to create a screening tool tailored to detect intentional overdose risk in individuals with OUD.